California’s economy is reeling, our neighbors who are public servants (teachers, etc.) are being laid off and classes at El Camino College are being slashed – yet our president is demanding a 13 percent raise on his current salary (plus perks) of about $300,000 a year.

If the Board of Trustees approves this demand, it will be justified as compensation for the “extra duties” Fallo has assumed regarding the Compton Center partnership.

The ECC community should know that many ECC staff are performing such duties in addition to their regular ECC duties without any additional pay whatsoever.

You should also know that both services and classes have been cut for economic reasons. Finally, Thomas Fallo is demanding a $550 transportation allowance for these “extra duties.” How many trips between ECC and Compton would justify $550?

– ELIZABETH SHADISH, PH.D.

Philosophy professor, El Camino College

EDITOR’S NOTE: President Fallo asked the board of trustees to withdraw the proposed pay hike on Monday.

Parking rules cause rift

Green Meadows is a small community of about 500 homes in Harbor City.

It is a quiet, low-crime area with nice middle-class homes. It has three entrances off Sepulveda Boulevard and Normandie Avenue.

We recently learned that a small group of fellow residents has decided to impose new parking restrictions. They are specifically targeting residents who own and park work trucks, recreational vehicles, trailers and other large vehicles in front of their houses.

If they succeed with this plan, it will create a hardship for a small group of residents. Working people who keep their trucks at home will have to find alternative parking and transportation. RV owners will not be able to load the night before trips, or unload after.

People with trailers will have to find alternative parking. People moving into the neighborhood will have a hard time packing or unpacking their truck, as it will not be allowed overnight.

We have already experienced that the parking enforcement officials show no mercy and tow vehicles immediately on the first parking violation.

I have spoken to many of my fellow residents and have not yet found one who supports this newly proposed restriction. This opinion appears to be unanimous and is supported by the signatures that we are currently gathering.

I understand that this parking restriction initiative is a pet project of Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn; that puts us in a very weak position. She has made it clear that she is looking for places to experiment with her new rule. We feel that we lack the organization, resources and power to defend ourselves against her initiative.

I hope that she will listen to the voice of the people in this matter and not let her own initiatives silence us.

– PAUL MURRAY

Harbor City

Judges: too much power?

Thomas Elias’s Thursday column, “California’s man-made drought,” was very revealing. He informed us that the current drought situation is being caused by the actions of a single judge who limited the amount of water that the pumps in the delta of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers can send to various parts of our state.

His column also revealed a situation within our country that we should all be concerned about and that some legislative action needs to prevent: Judges should not make laws; they should be interpreting our laws by deciding if a law has been broken and what the penalty should be.

There have been a few cases recently where judges have overstepped their bounds, such as the recent court ruling on the gay marriage, which should be a legislative issue. Regardless of whether we agree or disagree with their decisions, we must stop this from going forward.

President Theodore Roosevelt said, “It is the people and not the judges who are entitled to say what the Constitution means, for the Constitution is theirs. It belongs to them and not to their servants in office.” In other words, it is our Congress that we elect to office that is to decide on laws based on our Constitution, not a judge.

If judges are allowed to do what Elias outlined in his column, then it will mean that the American people’s constitutional right to govern themselves is being eroded.

If activist judges are allowed to continue to become increasingly our real rulers, what are elections for? Just to provide jobs for politicians?

– HOWARD GOLDBERG

Torrance

`Perks’ must be controlled

This is regarding Thursday’s editorial, “Judges’ perks out of order.”

Let me see if I am getting this right: When ordinary citizens violate the law, we get convicted. When officials of the state break the law, their violation is simply written into law so they can continue the practice?

We have much bigger problems than a recession if the only consequence our officials face is a mere few commentaries in the paper after years of stealing from the people.

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